Former BlackBerry leader sells company shares

Former BlackBerry chairman and co-chief executive Jim Balsillie no longer owns any shares in the iconic smartphone company, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

No details were disclosed in the regulatory filing regarding when Balsillie sold his shares other than it was sometime in 2012. The amount he received from the sale was also not disclosed.

In 2012, BlackBerry, formerly Research in Motion (RIM), traded as high as $18.23 a share and as low as $6.10 on the TSX. When Balsillie was near the end of his tenure at the helm of RIM, financial reports indicated he owned 26.8 million shares, or 5.1% of the company – meaning Balsillie could have sold his stock for anywhere between $163 million and $488 million.

In January last year, Balsillie and fellow co-CEO Mike Lazaridis stepped down to allow Thorsten Heins to take the reins as CEO, while they stayed on the company’s board of directors. But in late March, Balsillie resigned from the board, reportedly over a long-standing disagreement between Balsillie and Heins over the company’s long-term direction.